


Stumbling Blocks

by anamuan



Category: Johnny's Entertainment, NewS (Band)
Genre: Crushes, Getting Together, Idols Doing Idol Things, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-10-05
Updated: 2007-10-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:00:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22099087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anamuan/pseuds/anamuan
Summary: 5 times Yamapi falls for Shige
Relationships: Kato Shigeaki/Yamashita Tomohisa





	Stumbling Blocks

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Shigethon. incredibly thorough beta by the ever lovely [](https://mycroftnext.livejournal.com/profile)[**mycroftnext**](https://mycroftnext.livejournal.com/). All mistakes still extant are entirely my fault.

"I really don't know why you're asking _me_ for help with this. I'm studying _law_. When was the last time I had to do _math_?" Shige puffs hair away from his face, exasperated.

"Never hurts to get a review. After all, you never know when fresh knowledge could come in handy," Pi replies, diplomatic and persuasive. "Besides," he adds, ruining the image, "you're _smart_."

Shige sighs again and digs around in his bag, doing his best to look as though he really doesn't know why he keeps doing inconvenient favors for friends; Yamapi, though, thinks he can detect traces of a pleased smile hovering around the corners of Shige's eyes (even if Shige won't admit to it) and hums a little to himself while flipping the book open to the right page. Shige finally fishes his glasses and a pencil out of his bag and pulls the book toward him across the table. The thick-framed glasses go on, ready for business, and the pencil ends up perched behind one ear. He fiddles with Yamapi's eraser while he thinks and shoots Yamapi one last look—equal parts resignation and amusement—over the rim of his glasses. Yamapi's heart inexplicably skips a beat.

*

Ryo has been bugging Shige to cut his hair for weeks. At first Shige just ignores him. "Cut your hair. You look awful." That's just the way Ryo is. Yamapi understands; Ryo often says the same sort of thing to him and everyone knows how good _he_ looks. And Ryo usually gets bored with the whole thing quickly enough and moves on to harp on something or someone else. But this time Ryo keeps it up and as weeks stretch into months, Yamapi can tell that it's starting to get on Shige's nerves. Shige goes from laughing the whole thing off to frowning into the mirror to tugging at his hair whenever he goes within fifteen feet of Ryo. Shige finally snaps back, asking if Ryo is practicing to be a mother, nagging so much. Yamapi figures this will be the end the whole thing and promptly forgets about it.

So Yamapi feels justifiably shocked when Shige comes in the next day with a new hairstyle. What he can't explain is the way his mouth goes dry whenever Shige—and his amazing hair—look at him.

*

Shige goes from laughing and joking to sexpot in under a second as he leaves the off-set couches and faces the camera for his individual shots. Yamapi knows it's their job, that they have years of practice, that they all do it, that he does it himself; but at the same time, watching Shige, he can't help but be amazed. The only evidence of the Shige of a minute ago in the Shige now is this amused glint held back behind hooded lids, which, Yamapi muses, comes across entirely differently with the sultry expression now on Shige's face. Shige looks past the camera into the middle distance as directed, accidentally catching Yamapi's eye. _Danger. Promises_. Yamapi feels the breath catch in his throat and it isn't until Massu gets called up by the photographer that Yamapi realizes he's been staring. As Shige saunters back to the rest of the group, Yamapi's world seems a little distant and getting farther; and then Yamapi inhales sharply, the world snaps back into focus and he realizes that he'd been holding his breath too.

*

Yamapi decides to avoid the problem by doing his best to try to avoid Shige, something which, given their busy schedules, he thought would be a lot easier than it actually is. It seems that no matter where he goes, no matter what he does, Shige is doing something nearby. Yamapi staunchly refuses to consider the idea that he may be going crazy. Shige is not simply a figment of his demented imagination; Shige is real, and the fact that he always seems to be around is pure coincidence. Yamapi also refuses to consider other possible explanations for recent phenomena; nevertheless, he finds himself distracted by Shige’s mere presence more and more often. His world is slowly slipping out of control, and he blames Shige.

Preoccupied, Yamapi loses sleep, loses the ability to focus and people around work start asking him if he's sure he's feeling all right, because he looks like _shit_ and he shouldn’t work so hard. This sort of 'concern' does nothing for Yamapi's rapidly crumbling peace of mind and he grows even more distracted, dropping things, knocking things over, forgetting things...

"Hey, wait a second." Shige calls to Yamapi, jogging after him.

Yamapi jumps half a foot into the air, whirls around to face Shige and knocks a box of make-up off a table in the hallway. Foundation bottles and eyeliner clatter to the floor noisily and roll everywhere. The noise makes Yamapi start again and he looks down in confusion, giving Shige enough time to catch up with him.

"Yamapi." Shige says.

Yamapi looks up—eyes wide with what is most certainly _not_ fear, thank you very much—and Shige holds out Yamapi's bag. "You left it in the dressing room."

"Oh." Yamapi tries to look cool, like he isn't afraid to meet Shige's eyes because then his heart would start beating too fast, and takes the strap of the bag from Shige, accidentally touching Shige's hand in the process. Yamapi can swear his hand _tingles_ where Shige's hand brushes along it, like magic, like electricity, and he stands there staring stupidly at his traitorous hand long after Shige gives up waiting for a normal response and leaves.

Later—Yamapi isn't sure how much later—when a hand drops heavily on his shoulder, Yamapi yelps and nearly drops his bag; he fumbles, catches it and then looks up.

Ryo.

Ryo is safe. Yamapi can deal with Ryo. Ryo doesn’t have Shige’s hair, Shige’s eyes, Shige’s—

"Idiot." Ryo says. "Just tell Shige you like him already."

Maybe Ryo isn't as safe as Yamapi thought.

*

Two weeks, four days, eight hours and thirteen minutes (not that he's counting) after Yamapi's first awkward, fumbling kiss with Shige, complications in the studio make recording run late. Yamapi stretches his arms over his head, tired, but mostly hungry. He's still not really sure how it happened. He remembers accidentally not avoiding Shige, and babbling incoherently, and he thinks he must have blocked out the actual words as too traumatizing because he can never remember what actually came out of his mouth. But he does remember soft lips and a very surprising short little kiss, so Yamapi figures that he's got the important parts. Every time he asks Shige to tell him what he'd said, Shige just laughs at him and kisses him again, so Yamapi keeps asking.

"Let's go eat," someone suggests and everyone agrees. Food, food is nice.

"Where?" someone else finally asks and Yamapi braces himself for the inevitable disagreements over cuisine and location. Koyama will want ramen, but only really _good_ ramen which is inevitably only to be found farther away than either Ryo or Massu will want to travel; Tegoshi is on an Italian kick and won't want to hear about anything else. Yamapi can feel the migrane starting already.

"Korean BBQ." It's the last voice Yamapi expects to hear and his eyes flick to Shige in surprise. Shige catches his eye and mouths a single word: _Kalbi_.

Food is nice, but kalbi just might be love.


End file.
